Four people were killed on Wednesday as at least seven tornadoes spurred by a band of powerful and destructive thunderstorms tore across Massachusetts, state officials said.
Click Like For Boston News Updates: Tornadoes were confirmed in Springfield, Wilbraham, Westfield, Monson, Brimfield, Sturbridge and Oxford.Two people were killed in the West Springfield storm, one in Springfield and one in Brimfield, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency's Peter Judge.The state fire marshal said the Brimfield victim was killed when a seasonal motel partially collapsed.
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Storm spotters and residents said they also saw tornadoes in West Springfield, Agawam, Charlton, Millbury and Palmer. Those tornadoes have not been confirmed.
Scores of injuries in Springfield were confirmed by state police, including about two dozen people who were being treated at Mercy Hospital and 10 at Bay State Medical Center. State police said five people being treated at Bay State were seriously injured and required surgery.Harrington Memorial Hospital in Southbridge reported seeing 12 to 15 patients with non-life threatening injuries ranging from leg wounds to puncture wounds to lacerations. One patient hurt his back when his car flipped over.UMass Memorial Medical Center said two of its three tornado-related patients were in critical condition.Saying at least 19 communities have been affected by the deadly storms, Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency for the entire commonwealth on Wednesday night. He said he was mobilizing up to 1,000 National Guardsmen to help in the search and rescue efforts and cleanup.A group from FEMA is also headed to Massachusetts to help.At 7:15 p.m., WCVB-TV's Mary Saladna said she saw a funnel cloud moving through Sturbridge from Palmer. She said the sky grew very dark and the wind was "ferocious." She was not sure if the funnel cloud actually touched down."If it didn't make it, it was trying," she said.The Westfield/Springfield tornado was reported at 4:35 p.m. on in Westfield by local law enforcement officials who were alerted by amateur radio operators, the NWS said. The storm was moving east toward Springfield.
A few minutes later, cameras on buildings along the Connecticut River in Springfield caught a swirling, vertical cloud of debris and water moving south along the river. It crossed over Memorial Bridge, which is Route 147, before dissipating.When the cloud of debris cleared, the camera's view showed broken trees, building damage and an overturned truck on the bridge."To see the debris falling out of the sky -- it's indescribable. A lot of us were standing there screaming. It is something that you dont see on a daily basis," said Paula Rivero, who works in Springfield.Some buildings in downtown Springfield were heavily damaged, and crumbled chunks of bricks that once made up the upper floors were in heaps on the street below."I looked out over the tree line and I saw debris. At that point, I ran upstairs and grabbed the dogs and, 'Everybody get to the basement!' By the time we got downstairs, it was over. It was over in 30 seconds. The roof is gone; the windows are gone; the cars -- gone. But we're alive," said one Springfield resident, who coincidentally left work early on Wednesday to meet with a roofer."The whole building is gone. My friend's building is gone right here. The whole building is gone. The porch is gone. The top roof is gone. The whole thing is gone," another Springfield resident said.The state police said they are using a specially trained team and K-9 units to search damaged structures looking for anyone who could be trapped.
In Westfield, trees were twisted, snapped and tossed on homes and cars, and two schools have roof damage."Heard the popping of the things, and all of a sudden, you see everything go flying around and the trees starting to come down," one Westfield resident said."It was very scary mostly because you didnt have anywhere to go and you didnt know what was going to land on your car and what wasnt," another resident said."It was crazy. The wind was whipping out of control. We tried to follow it," said Westfield's Al St. Jean, who saw the churning clouds.In Monson, houses were destroyed, roofs ripped off, cars tossed around and trees toppled."All the lamps inside broke. Glass was flying everywhere. A screen flew across the room," one Monson resident said.A swath of mangled trees and battered buildings 300 yards wide and a mile and a half long now snakes through the sleepy town of 8,000 residents. Town Hall lost its roof and the steeple of the First Church of Monson was ripped apart."It is just devastating. You can see all the houses ripped up. This is historic -- this the first tornado that we ever had," another resident said.There were some injuries reported in Monson, but the extent was not immediately known.
A WCVB Facebook fan who lives 50 miles away in Upton said she found debris from Monson in her yard.Experts from the NWS were expected to survey the damage on Thursday to confirm where tornadoes touched down, and to determine their intensity. Unlike hurricanes where storm strength is measured by wind speed, meteorologists examine damage left in the wake of a tornado to rate their strength.Tornado warnings are issued when radar detects some rotation and conditions in a thunderstorm cell that could produce a tornado or when a weather spotter, police officer or other trained official spots a funnel cloud. Residents in the path of a storm that could produce a tornado should find immediate shelter either in a basement or an interior room away from windows and exterior doors.A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area, according to the NWS. Anyone in the watch area should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for updated advisories."Out on my porch, the wind is crazy, the leaves are upside down. The sky is this frightening gray kind of color. And way off in the distance, it's completely black clouds," said Kim Bush of Southhampton, Mass."We're gonna batten down the hatches and get ready to ride it out," said Patrick Davis of Orange.
Earlier, a tornado warning was issued for Keene, N.H., but expired without any reports of an actual funnel cloud.Bill Dow, the a deputy city clerk in Keene, said it was raining very heavily and the clouds were "dark and ominous," but he did not see any tornadoes.Meanwhile north of Boston in Andover, lightning was blamed on a house fire Wednesday morning.Police said the woman who lives at the Hawk Ridge Road house was not home when the fire broke out in the home's attic at about 9:40 a.m. A dog ran out of the house unharmed as the firefighters broke in.Fire crews from Andover, Tewksbury and Wilmington were able to knock down the fire in about an hour.The fire caused about $200,000 in damage to the home.

BOSTON —

Four people were killed on Wednesday as at least seven tornadoes spurred by a band of powerful and destructive thunderstorms tore across Massachusetts, state officials said.

Two people were killed in the West Springfield storm, one in Springfield and one in Brimfield, according to the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency's Peter Judge.

The state fire marshal said the Brimfield victim was killed when a seasonal motel partially collapsed.

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Storm spotters and residents said they also saw tornadoes in West Springfield, Agawam, Charlton, Millbury and Palmer. Those tornadoes have not been confirmed.

Scores of injuries in Springfield were confirmed by state police, including about two dozen people who were being treated at Mercy Hospital and 10 at Bay State Medical Center. State police said five people being treated at Bay State were seriously injured and required surgery.

Harrington Memorial Hospital in Southbridge reported seeing 12 to 15 patients with non-life threatening injuries ranging from leg wounds to puncture wounds to lacerations. One patient hurt his back when his car flipped over.

UMass Memorial Medical Center said two of its three tornado-related patients were in critical condition.

Saying at least 19 communities have been affected by the deadly storms, Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency for the entire commonwealth on Wednesday night. He said he was mobilizing up to 1,000 National Guardsmen to help in the search and rescue efforts and cleanup.

A group from FEMA is also headed to Massachusetts to help.

At 7:15 p.m., WCVB-TV's Mary Saladna said she saw a funnel cloud moving through Sturbridge from Palmer. She said the sky grew very dark and the wind was "ferocious." She was not sure if the funnel cloud actually touched down.

"If it didn't make it, it was trying," she said.

The Westfield/Springfield tornado was reported at 4:35 p.m. on in Westfield by local law enforcement officials who were alerted by amateur radio operators, the NWS said. The storm was moving east toward Springfield.

A few minutes later, cameras on buildings along the Connecticut River in Springfield caught a swirling, vertical cloud of debris and water moving south along the river. It crossed over Memorial Bridge, which is Route 147, before dissipating.

When the cloud of debris cleared, the camera's view showed broken trees, building damage and an overturned truck on the bridge.

"To see the debris falling out of the sky -- it's indescribable. A lot of us were standing there screaming. It is something that you dont see on a daily basis," said Paula Rivero, who works in Springfield.

Some buildings in downtown Springfield were heavily damaged, and crumbled chunks of bricks that once made up the upper floors were in heaps on the street below.

"I looked out over the tree line and I saw debris. At that point, I ran upstairs and grabbed the dogs and, 'Everybody get to the basement!' By the time we got downstairs, it was over. It was over in 30 seconds. The roof is gone; the windows are gone; the cars -- gone. But we're alive," said one Springfield resident, who coincidentally left work early on Wednesday to meet with a roofer.

"The whole building is gone. My friend's building is gone right here. The whole building is gone. The porch is gone. The top roof is gone. The whole thing is gone," another Springfield resident said.

The state police said they are using a specially trained team and K-9 units to search damaged structures looking for anyone who could be trapped.

In Westfield, trees were twisted, snapped and tossed on homes and cars, and two schools have roof damage.

"Heard the popping of the things, and all of a sudden, you see everything go flying around and the trees starting to come down," one Westfield resident said.

"It was very scary mostly because you didnt have anywhere to go and you didnt know what was going to land on your car and what wasnt," another resident said.

"It was crazy. The wind was whipping out of control. We tried to follow it," said Westfield's Al St. Jean, who saw the churning clouds.

"All the lamps inside broke. Glass was flying everywhere. A screen flew across the room," one Monson resident said.

A swath of mangled trees and battered buildings 300 yards wide and a mile and a half long now snakes through the sleepy town of 8,000 residents. Town Hall lost its roof and the steeple of the First Church of Monson was ripped apart.

"It is just devastating. You can see all the houses ripped up. This is historic -- this the first tornado that we ever had," another resident said.

There were some injuries reported in Monson, but the extent was not immediately known.

A WCVB Facebook fan who lives 50 miles away in Upton said she found debris from Monson in her yard.

Experts from the NWS were expected to survey the damage on Thursday to confirm where tornadoes touched down, and to determine their intensity. Unlike hurricanes where storm strength is measured by wind speed, meteorologists examine damage left in the wake of a tornado to rate their strength.

Tornado warnings are issued when radar detects some rotation and conditions in a thunderstorm cell that could produce a tornado or when a weather spotter, police officer or other trained official spots a funnel cloud. Residents in the path of a storm that could produce a tornado should find immediate shelter either in a basement or an interior room away from windows and exterior doors.

A tornado watch means conditions are favorable for tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in and close to the watch area, according to the NWS. Anyone in the watch area should be on the lookout for threatening weather conditions and listen for updated advisories.

"Out on my porch, the wind is crazy, the leaves are upside down. The sky is this frightening gray kind of color. And way off in the distance, it's completely black clouds," said Kim Bush of Southhampton, Mass.

"We're gonna batten down the hatches and get ready to ride it out," said Patrick Davis of Orange.

Earlier, a tornado warning was issued for Keene, N.H., but expired without any reports of an actual funnel cloud.

Bill Dow, the a deputy city clerk in Keene, said it was raining very heavily and the clouds were "dark and ominous," but he did not see any tornadoes.

Meanwhile north of Boston in Andover, lightning was blamed on a house fire Wednesday morning.

Police said the woman who lives at the Hawk Ridge Road house was not home when the fire broke out in the home's attic at about 9:40 a.m. A dog ran out of the house unharmed as the firefighters broke in.

Fire crews from Andover, Tewksbury and Wilmington were able to knock down the fire in about an hour.